Padres’ franchise-worst loss ruined Sung-Mun Song’s first MLB home run moment

This is one of those times where Sung-Mun Song deserved better. That’s probably the most fair way to put it. A player only gets one first major league home run. One piece of proof that all the work paid off. And somehow, the Padres found a way to bury it under 20 runs of misery.

Song hit his first major league home run on July 1 at Wrigley Field, sending a fifth-inning fastball from Colin Rea over the right field wall. There was probably a little carry to help him. But still, it went 385 feet, left the yard, and gave him a milestone that should have had the Padres dugout feeling something other than stunned silence.

Instead, all it did was cut the deficit to 9-1. The Padres didn’t just lose to the Cubs. They were flat out embarrassed by them. Flattened and lapped by them. A 23-3 loss is the kind of game that follows a team back onto the plane, into the clubhouse and straight into every uncomfortable deadline conversation already circling this roster. It’s so bad that fans were hoping that the coaching staff was left in Chicago and the team flew home without them.

Padres robbed Sung-Mun Song of the kind of moment every player deserves

Song did his job. Which honestly, makes it even worse. He went 2-for-4 with a double and a homer. In a game where the Padres spent most of it looking like they wanted a slaughter rule enforced, Song actually gave them professional at-bats. 

Song is not one of the franchise faces whose every good moment gets packaged and pushed to the front of the conversation. He’s a utility infielder trying to carve out staying power in his first MLB season. He’s had to fight for starts, for at-bats, and fight to prove that he can be more than a temporary piece on the roster.

Those players don’t get endless milestone nights. So when one arrives, it should breathe a little.

Instead, this one got swallowed by a Padres pitching staff that gave up eight home runs, a bullpen that had no answers. Not Song’s fault. But it is the Padres fault. 

Song is slashing .233/.333/.333 with one home run, nine RBI and six stolen bases over 14 hits in 60 at-bats this season. He’s been used sparingly across the 33 games he’s played so far, and at times, he’s looked lost while being moved around the infield so often.

Again, that’s not entirely his fault. He’s been given little time to get in sync with his teammates while also settling into a new country and a new league.

With all that in mind, it’s a shame his first home run came in such a crappy game. Hopefully, when he gets another opportunity to celebrate a homer, it comes in a way that actually gives the Padres the advantage in the box score.

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